Homestead
by evergreenlove
Summary: Vaughn is finally ready to live on Sunshine Islands permanently, but needs a job and a place to live while he saves up money. This leads him to an interesting solution - ask to become business partners with the kindhearted rancher, Chelsea... as well as roommates. To his absolute surprise, she agrees, and everything begins to change. VaughnxChelsea
1. The Proposition

**Homestead**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Chelsea wiped the sweat from her brow and stood up from the cucumber plant she was inspecting. It was unseasonably cool this spring, very rainy and chilly, and she worried the weather might adversely affect her vegetables. So far there were no visible deformities, but she would have to keep a close watch on her crops for the next few days to monitor their health.

Her dog, Cooper, barking from the entrance to Moon Farm caught her attention. When she turned around, she couldn't deny the surprise she felt at seeing who her visitor was.

"Vaughn, hello!" she called, wiping the dirt from her knees. "What can I do for you?"

The animal rancher shifted stiffly and tilted his hat to her in his customary greeting. Chelsea wondered if something was wrong – she hadn't seen Vaughn so uncomfortable in her presence since the first few months of their acquaintance. Over the years, they had slowly but surely bonded over her animals and the fondness they felt for the islands. Their work relationship had long since matured into an easygoing friendship.

"Chelsea – I was wondering if I could talk to you… I have a proposition for you, actually," Vaughn muttered, glancing down with a small smile. Cooper yapped at his feet, pawing at his shins and butting his head against his boots. Chelsea grabbed him firmly and hoisted the small dog up in her arms, chuckling – Vaughn had endeared himself to all of the animals on Moon Farm, having checked in on them over the years and having occasionally helped out when Chelsea was otherwise indisposed.

"A proposition, huh? Sounds interesting! Lay it on me, Cowboy," she prompted.

"Well," he started, "These days, I've been thinking… it might be nice to settle down on Sunshine Islands. For good."

Chelsea hugged Cooper a little tighter to her chest and couldn't help but let loose a giant smile. Once he had opened up to more people, it had quickly become clear to everyone that Vaughn was well suited to the stable, peaceful life on the islands, no matter how abrasive his exterior seemed. Most thought it a shame that he persisted in staying in the city for so long. In fact, she could barely believe this day had actually come, where Vaughn would bring up the idea on his own!

She couldn't deny that she was curious about what had changed his mind.

"This is wonderful," she told him earnestly. "I'm so glad you think so!"

He ducked under the rim of his hat, hiding a tiny, sheepish smile. "… Thank you. I appreciate the enthusiasm. The reason I had to talk to you though – well, it comes down to certain living arrangements."

"Okay, let me know what I can do to help."

Pursing his lips, he said, "I know I can always stay at Mirabelle's home, or kip at Carol's Inn, but I also know that Elliot is planning to move in with Julia once he finally finds the cojones to propose, and they barely have space for me there as it is. As for living full-time at the inn, well, money is always tight."

"And Gannon's houses, while wonderful, don't really come so cheaply these days," Chelsea added understandingly. He nodded jerkily in agreement.

"Now, don't get me wrong, those options are still doable – it's just, when I really thought about it, my best bet to both continue the work I love and to stay here is to ask you to become my business partner."

Cocking her head, Chelsea lowered her dog to the ground and gently shooed him away. "Business partner?"

He nodded. "Right. Since I won't be commuting regularly to the city after the move, I can't really do the same job for Mirabelle as I used to, so she'll be looking to hire somebody else. But then I realized I could still do a lot of the same duties, so long as I had the animals to work with and a suitable space to do it in."

She hoisted her rucksack over her shoulder and gestured that they should go into her house. "And that's where Moon Ranch comes in?"

He shot her a rare grin. "Exactly. I can work with you, help you build up the animal aspect of your ranch. That would leave you with more energy to tend to the farming aspect of Moon Ranch." He quickly flushed at his own words and continued harshly, "Not that I think any part needs more attention, or that your ranch is lacking. Just. I could help – look, you've got a couple of cows and five or so chickens right now, but with my assistance, I could bring in even more livestock for product and breeding purposes. Ultimately means better reputation and better income, right?"

He ended abruptly, snapping his mouth shut, looking for all the world like he was trapping the rest of his argument behind closed lips. Chelsea was frankly amazed that he had spoken as much as he did. Looking a bit disgruntled, he took a seat at her table and leaned back in the chair, real uncertainty coloring his usual unflappable demeanor.

"So you're asking to move in here and work on the ranch?" she asked slowly, still trying to figure out the logistics in her head. She had never even thought of expanding her ranch in this way – hadn't ever thought of hiring extra hands, even when the starting rancher Mark had moved to town. But this –

This could be something good if they worked hard enough.

"I'd work for my room and board, of course," he was quick to add. "This is just until I get my financial situation figured out, when I can ask Gannon to build me my own home – I was thinking Animal Island might be a good location. Then I'd just make the commute from Animal to Sprout, simple as that." He removed his hat and placed it on the table. "What do you think?"

She stood and pulled a metal bottle of milk from her fridge, pouring some into two glasses. Her silence was making him even more uncomfortable, she could tell, but this was a huge proposition to consider and deserved real thought. Vaughn quietly accepted the offered glass and simply let her think.

It didn't seem like a bad idea at all. Chelsea's dream was to become the best rancher she could possibly be – and to her, that meant doing the best she could, on her own merits. The idea of a large ranch, filled with impersonal machines milking her cows and huge rotations of employees tending to her crops really did not appeal to her in the slightest.

But Vaughn's idea was pretty solid and kept her ranch operation intimate and personal. She could expand without losing sight of her dream and the life she loved. It didn't hurt either that she knew firsthand how wonderful he was with animals, how much he cared for them, and how hardworking he was. He would be an asset to any ranch or business.

Of course, on a more personal note, Vaughn wasn't always the easiest guy to get along with, and so might not make the best roommate; but they were already good friends and she figured that had to count for something. From the beginning, she had been good at reading his disposition, and knowing exactly how to approach him without raising his hackles. She could just use that to her advantage if they started living together.

It _would_ be interesting to see how the rest of Sunshine Islands would react, too. Shacking up with a young man would definitely get the tongues wagging, but Chelsea knew that it would end up mostly as harmless gossip. Everyone was such a huge family here that she doubted anyone would actually believe that something unsavory was going on between her and straight-laced Vaughn.

Glancing back up at the man in question, Chelsea realized just how long she had been deliberating. Vaughn was clearly now off in his own thoughts, solemn and narrow-eyed as usual. He took a long swig of milk from his untouched glass, and the taste seemingly attracted his attention as he glanced down at the beverage in surprise. A tiny smile appeared on his face, disappearing immediately when he saw how much focus Chelsea was currently giving him.

He colored a little at his own involuntary reaction. "Best milk I've tasted in a long time," he admitted.

"It's S-Rank," she said. "Betsy just started producing it a few months ago."

"You've done a great job of raising her, I remember thinking that when she won last year's festival," he said with a slight smile. She blushed a bit herself at his straight-forward praise, a bit happy that he remembered the exact cow she was talking about.

And, well, that pretty much cinched it. Even just spending a mere two days a week on the islands, Vaughn was already personally invested in her livestock and her dream – she knew without a doubt that her animals, and any future animals he might bring up, would only be led by his skilled hands and kind heart.

She could now give her answer with full confidence. "Vaughn, frankly speaking, I love your idea," she said, grinning. "So, when can you move in?"

"I-" He stared at her with his amethyst eyes, intense and wide, trying to digest her words. "Seriously?"

She laughed, excited. "Seriously!"

"Well then, I, um, I can move in by next Wednesday." His broad shoulders relaxed and his entire face seemed to transform into a gigantic grin she never even knew he had. "You won't regret this, Chelsea," he promised seriously.

"I know I won't," she replied steadily, helpless to do anything but match his wide smile.

* * *

I have no idea what I am doing here, lalala... But I am so in love with this pairing, it's not even funny. I do not own Harvest Moon IoH or Sunshine Islands, or any of the games, for that matter (though I do own copies... ahaha... ha). If any are worried that Chelsea will be a self-insert character, please don't be. I am, in part, modeling her off of her character in Sunshine Islands if you play as Mark, and also, in part, from my own head cannon that I've made up for her. But I will not give her my own exact personality, and will do my hardest to avoid making her into a sickening Mary-Sue, I promise.

Also, for those of you thinking that she and Vaughn are already secretly in love? Nope! Trying something a little different, a story more about life and slow building relationships. Let's give it a whirl!

Thanks for your time and hope you enjoyed,

evergreenlove


	2. Wagging Tongues

**Homestead**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

"So, word around town is that you're now shacking up with a certain grumpy cowboy," was the first thing Julia said to her as she entered the Animal Shop on Wednesday morning. Chelsea sighed, exasperated, while Julia grinned wickedly.

Mirabelle glared at her daughter. "Hush, Julia, what an awful way to put it! Chelsea is doing a wonderful favor for Vaughn." She turned to the young rancher and smiled, looking a little emotional. "It really is so wonderful what you're doing for him, Chelsea, I can't thank you enough for looking out for him."

"Mirabelle," Chelsea said, embarrassed, "It's really nothing. Vaughn is actually helping ME out in the long run, so I feel very grateful that he proposed this idea."

Unfortunately, this statement somehow made Mirabelle look even more teary-eyed, so Chelsea quickly placed her order of chicken feed and turned her focus on to her good friend instead. "What I'm really curious about right now is how you found out so quickly."

Julia waved an unconcerned hand. "Oh, pshaw, Vaughn came in and told Mom and I himself last night before he left for the week. First time I've really seen that much emotion on that poker face of his."

Chelsea's mind involuntarily went back to Vaughn's grinning face last night, and she had to agree. Even she had been taken aback at how openly happy he had been.

"Maybe now that he's living with you, we'll see that smiling face of his more often," Julia teased.

Chelsea nodded – then her brain caught up with what Julia was implying. She pursed her lips and willed the fire in her cheeks to leave. "Hey! This is a purely platonic and professional arrangement we've got going on! We're not – I mean, it's not like we are – you suck, Julia." She huffed at the hysterically laughing blonde.

The closing of the door to the Animal Shop announced a new guest. Felicia, delicate and cheerful as usual, approached the two girls. "Hello Julia, Chelsea. Is Mirabelle around?"

"She just went into the back to set aside some chicken feed for Chelsea's order," Julia responded easily, having finally caught her breath back.

Felicia nodded in response, then turned to Chelsea. "And I hear that some congratulations may be in order for you and Vaughn?" she asked, delighted.

Her blush came back with a vengeance, as did Julia's case of the chuckles. "No, Felicia, it's not like that at all! Vaughn and I are just combining forces to upgrade Moon Ranch, really! He's going to be cultivating a bigger livestock population for me."

"Oh, dear, I apologize for assuming… I had heard that Vaughn was moving in with you," Felicia said, hand on her cheek and sounding a little disappointed.

"Um, well, yes, he IS moving in with me, but that's only because it makes the most sense for him to live on the property while he saves up money to ask Gannon for his own house."

Felicia clapped her hands together. "Splendid, then I am sure that everything will work out exactly as it should in the end!"

Chelsea sighed, shaking her head a little in resigned amusement. Goddess, she knew that telling the rest of the islanders would be a little tricky, but she hadn't realized that everyone would just immediately assume Vaughn's moving in meant _marriage_. Speaking of which –

"Just out of curiosity, Felicia, how did you hear about this so quickly?" Chelsea asked.

"Elliot told the whole family this morning."

She didn't have to think hard to figure out whom Elliot had originally heard the news from. Chelsea sent a raised eyebrow over at Julia, who at least had the decency to look sheepish.

"In my defense, if Vaughn hadn't told us so late last night, my mom would have gone over and told Felicia first thing," Julia chuckled.

Luckily, she was saved from the rest of the conversation by Mirabelle, who exited the storeroom and said, "All set, Chelsea, we can deliver this chicken feed in a few hours to your chicken coop. That will be 400G."

Paying quickly, Chelsea said her goodbyes and left the shop in a hurry, suddenly dreading her trip to Haila's Café where Denny and Lanna were probably just waiting to ambush her.

* * *

Sometimes she really hated when she was right.

"He is just so dreamy, I'm very jealous, Chels," Lanna said quite seriously with a twinkle in her eye. Chelsea tried very hard not to slam her head onto the table just to get it all to stop. "You've landed yourself quite a catch!" The pop star elbowed Denny and they both giggled over the fishing joke. Chelsea came to the conclusion that she needed new friends, preferably ones that weren't so insufferably dorky.

"For the hundredth time, Lanna, we're just working together!" she protested.

Denny stuffed some grilled fish in his mouth and pointed his fork in her direction. "And living together. That's the part that people really care about."

Chelsea stuttered. "Well, yes, that too. But that's only because of the working arrangement, I swear." She hunched over her vegetable soup and sulked.

"Oh, we know," Lanna sang. "But your face when we imply otherwise is just too delicious to pass up!"

"I'm calling a friendship foul," she grumbled. "This is just mean."

"Don't be such a grumpy pants, you had to have known that inviting a dreamy man like Vaughnie to live with you is just asking for gossip and teasing."

Chelsea had to crack a smile. "He _hates_ it when you call him that."

Lanna blinked innocently. "Which one? Vaughnie or dreamy?"

"Both. It's a toss up which one he actually hates more."

"I can't say I would mind being called dreamy," Denny not so quietly muttered into his cup of water.

In a flash of blonde hair, Lanna whirled around to face him, grinning madly. "Don't be jealous, Denny-booboo-kins, you know you'll always be the dreamiest!"

Chelsea cracked up. The half horrified, half flattered look on Denny's face almost made up for the past twenty minutes of abuse. Almost.

* * *

On her way back from lunch, she realized there were certain accommodations she needed to make for her new roommate. She slipped into Chen's shop.

"How are you doing today, Chelsea?" Chen asked politely from the counter as she walked in.

Ah, good old pleasant-faced Chen with his peaceful demeanor. Gentlemanly Chen who was way too professional to ever bring up a customer's personal and potentially embarrassing business –

"Heard you might be stopping by for some new furniture. We don't have any bigger beds in the store right now, but I can certainly order one for you," he continued innocently, making her groan.

So much for Gentlemanly Chen.

Dumping her heavy rucksack on the floor, Chelsea leaned heavily on the counter. "Not you too, Chen!"

He chuckled. "I apologize, I just couldn't resist. Don't worry, that was all I had lined up. What can I help you with today?"

She paused. "Well," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I _do_ actually need to buy some new furniture. And it is a bed for Vaughn… but not a bigger bed, just another twin!"

Luckily for her, Chen merely smiled and nodded, pulling out the forms to complete the order. "Sure thing, Chelsea. It will total 10,000G and will take two days to arrive." He accepted her money with a nod. "I hope that the wait won't inconvenience you or Vaughn in the meantime."

She waved off his concerns and hoisted her rucksack back onto her shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about that. He's not moving in till next week."

"All joking aside, I hope everything works out between you two," he said.

"We're really not like that, Chen," she protested half-heartedly.

"I believe you, but becoming roommates is a huge step in any relationship, even in just a friendship. It can change the whole dynamic between two people," he said. "Just because you like someone, doesn't always mean you can stand living with them."

Chelsea nodded absently at his words, a little lost in thought. Truth be told, she had tried picturing her and Vaughn sharing the same space last night, and even this morning. It was the one part of this whole scenario she wasn't completely sure would work, the one part she felt a little apprehensive about. She had never shared a room with anyone, as she was an only child, and the one year of college she had attended was spent living in a single. For all she knew, she could be an awful person to live with!

It didn't help that Vaughn was more the type to grunt, glare, and possibly offend when a problem arose, than the type to work out the issue with patience and full sentences.

Well. They'd never know until they tried, she supposed. No use in thinking the worst before anything ever happened. "I guess we'll see soon enough, thanks for the advice, Chen," she finally responded, forcing a small smile on her face as she ducked out the door.

* * *

She spent the rest of her afternoon rearranging furniture in her home and creating larger penned-in areas for Vaughn's livestock to graze in. By early evening, she had sectioned off a good chunk of the northeastern area of her field to be used by Vaughn and had built sturdy stone fences that would keep all the animals secure. She had also created a nice little corner area for Vaughn's new bed to be placed in, along with a space in the closet for all of his clothes. As a final touch, she attached a small hook on the inside of the closet door for Vaughn to hang up his Stetson, if he so pleased.

Yeah, she decided she was going to be an _awesome_ roommate.

Overall, the work made her feel much more cheerful about the upcoming changes. Seeing how easily she could accommodate and make space for another person made her feel positive and able. It became easier for her to imagine him sharing these spaces with her, and in a way, she thought it could actually be very nice to have a roommate like Vaughn.

He certainly wouldn't play loud rock music at three in the morning or throw wild parties while she was away (she'd never had a roommate before, but she'd heard plenty of horror stories, okay?). Throughout all of his years staying at Mirabelle's house, he had always kept his personal belongings tidy and in place, so it was probably safe to assume that he wouldn't be a _total_ slob.

From Chelsea's perspective, Vaughn had also changed a lot since they were first introduced. He was still a quiet man, but he was more open to social interaction now, more prone to listening to others than simply brushing them off. Plus, maybe it sounded a little too cheesy and domestic, but it'd be nice to share meals with someone other than her dog on a regular basis.

This was actually going to work, she could see it now. Everything was going to be great!

Finally satisfied with her progress for the day, Chelsea shuffled into the kitchen and nearly collapsed into her seat. She hadn't been this tired in a long time; after years of working on the ranch, she had mostly gotten used to the hard labor and the long hours, but today had been comprised of even harder labor and even longer hours than she was accustomed to.

She had never really let herself complain about how tiring her work was, mainly because she loved her way of life no matter how tough it was on her. But now that everything was settled with Vaughn, she could admit that having someone around to share in her work was a bit of a relief. And she could actually admit to herself for once that she was freakin' exhausted and about ready to sleep into the next century.

Although sleep would have to wait until the rumbling monster in her stomach was appeased first.

Luckily, she still had some mushroom rice leftover from the night before, so she planned to eat quickly, take a hot shower, and head to bed as soon as her pajamas were on. Hoisting herself to her aching feet with a groan, she was about to mosey on over to the fridge when someone knocked on her door.

She opened it, fully expecting to see Julia or Mirabelle with her chicken feed order (sometimes the ladies liked to visit with her when they were delivering her goods), and so was completely flummoxed at the sight of a disgruntled cowboy standing there instead.

"Vaughn?"

* * *

_I just love imaging what kinds of everyday conversations all of the visitors have, so I hope this chapter was a little fun to read, at least! I'm keeping the chapters short on purpose, so I can update faster. The ending is kind of a cheesy writer's trick/cliffhanger, but I honestly thought it was the best place to separate chapters two and three. _

_Hope you enjoyed, and thanks so much for reading! If you have time, please let me know what you think of the story so far._

**evergreenlove**


	3. Change of Plans

**Homestead**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"Vaughn?"

"Chelsea," he grunted out a greeting, looking much grumpier than he had the night before. His face was already twisted into a semi-scowl, his hat rim pulled low over his narrowed eyes.

"What are you doing back on the islands so soon?" she blurted out. Realizing how rude that must sound, she pulled the door wide open and gestured him inside. "Come in, come in."

"Thanks," he said. For the first time, she noticed he had a huge bag slung over his shoulder and wondered what was going on.

"Did something happen?" she had to ask. "Is everything okay?"

Vaughn glared at something in the distance. "Define okay."

Pursing her lips, Chelsea put her hands on her hips. "I define it as the opposite of your attitude right now."

He sighed and at least looked a _little_ repentant for his grumpiness. "When I told my landlord in the city that I was moving out this morning, he made up some bullshit about how I damaged one of the walls and had to compensate him for the repairs."

Chelsea's brow furrowed. "Can – can he just do that? Make stuff like that up and force you to pay him more money?"

"I tried arguing with him, but he's obviously pulled this scam multiple times. It was a cheap, shitty place, but of course the amount he demanded from me nearly equaled a full month's rent." He paced a little, body tense and agitated. "I wanted to leave as soon as possible, and I intended to walk out without giving him a single G, but he threatened to make a huge fuss and call the authorities. Even though I didn't do a damn thing, I couldn't stand the hassle, so I threw my money in his face, packed up, and left."

Chelsea sat a mug of hot milk on the table for Vaughn. "That's infuriating," she fumed. "Do you want me to go beat him up?"

What? She was only being half-serious…

That seemed to surprise Vaughn out of his angry glaring. He looked at her with wide eyes for a second, surprised at her suggestion, before his shoulders relaxed minutely. "Hah. You would probably wipe the floor with him. But no. I'll be just as good so long as I never see his smug face ever again." He shifted his bag on his stiff shoulder and reached for the mug. "Chelsea… I know we were planning for me to move in next week, so I can understand if you aren't ready for me tonight, but –"

"Not at all! I've got some closet space ready for you and a bed is on the way – oh dear. Your bed is _on the way_." She had pointed to the empty corner where Vaughn's bed would go, until she remembered just how empty it was. Sheepishly, she added, "I ordered it earlier today, it's not supposed to get here until two days from now."

Hesitantly, he asked, "I could sleep on the floor, if you don't mind? I would go to Carol's for the next few days, but I lost most of my extra cash to that asshole landlord. Or I could see if Mirabelle minds having me as a guest."

But he didn't even have to say it for her to understand that if he went to Mirabelle's, he would be mothered and coddled by an outraged Mirabelle for half the night. He would be extremely uncomfortable there, but she knew he would bear with it if she refused.

She stared him down steadily. "Of course you can stay here. But don't be silly, you're not sleeping on the floor. You can take the bed, and _I'll_ sleep on the floor."

He let out a bark of a laugh, though his eyes weren't smiling. "Now who's being silly? This is your damn house and your damn bed."

Yeah, that proposal had been a long shot. "I hate the thought of you sleeping on the floor, especially since you've now suffered through two boat rides in less than 24 hours - what if I loan you some money for the inn tonight?"

Vaughn looked frosty at the very idea. "I don't like owing anyone money."

She was about ready to throw her hands up in the air. She tried, "_I_ could spend the night at the inn while you stayed here."

He snorted. "Again, I don't like owing anyone money."

"Technically I wouldn't be spending on you, I would be spending on me," she muttered weakly.

"No, just no," he growled. "Besides, it's dark out now. A lady shouldn't be out walking alone at this time of night. Let me just sleep on the floor, alright?"

Chelsea discreetly rolled her eyes at his sense of propriety. She was too tired to be dealing with this right now. Not to mention, if she kept arguing, he'd probably just stomp over to Mirabelle's soon out of sheer stubbornness. This was not how she wanted their first days of being roommates to start. "Fine! You can sleep on the floor, Cowboy, BUT." She stripped her bed of its blanket and fished the heavy blanket she used in winter from her closet. "You are using _all_ of these. I'll be fine with my sheets."

His mouth opened to refuse, but she pointedly dumped the blankets where his bed was supposed to be and crossed her arms.

"This is our first night as roommates, Vaughn, so let's stop all this arguing and do roommate-y things instead!"

He finally set his bag down and took the kitchen seat across from her. He raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering what 'roommate-y things' consisted of.

Chelsea racked her brain for something to say. "Well, I'm about to heat up dinner, you can sit with me while I eat and ask how my day has been!" She moved to finally get her dinner started.

"You've never had a roommate before, have you?" Vaughn asked, faintly amused. "You're thinking more of a husband and wife's lifestyle than you are roommates'."

Was it that obvious that she'd never had one? A little flustered, she tried saving some face. "A husband and wife are sort of roommates, though, wouldn't you say?"

He removed his hat and finally seemed to relax for a moment. "Touché, I suppose. Alright, I'll go along – Chelsea, how was your day?"

She sat down with her rice and stared at him blankly. True, she had wanted him to ask, but now that he had, she couldn't really think of anything interesting to say. It seemed a bit lame to be caught off guard by her own question. "Um. Good? I guess I just did the usual work on the ranch… oh! I made some new fenced areas for any animals you want to raise; it's over towards the barn. I'll show you tomorrow and you can tell me if it works for you or if you need me to change some things."

Now he was the one caught off guard. "You did that for me?"

Chelsea frowned. "Of course." It suddenly hit her that maybe she had crossed a boundary of his by acting without his input. Vaughn was such a private person… "Should I not have?" she asked, worried.

He shook his head. "No, I'm mighty grateful. I guess I just wasn't thinking that you would do this much for me; I was going to do all that myself after I moved in." It was obvious how used he was to doing things for himself by himself.

After scraping the last of her meal into her mouth, Chelsea figured she should change the subject. She dumped her dinnerware in the sink and began washing; with one shoulder, she shrugged in the direction of her bathroom, the latest expansion she had commissioned from Gannon. "I was planning to take a shower after dinner and then head to bed. The bathroom is over there, feel free to use it while I clean up."

Not hearing anything a minute or so later, Chelsea turned around to check on him. Vaughn hadn't moved; he was still standing in the same place near the kitchen table, just staring at the bathroom door uncomfortably.

"You all right?" she asked, confused. It was just a bathroom, after all, and she had even cleaned it recently.

At her question, he visibly shook himself out of whatever heavy thoughts hung over his head and frowned. "Fine, Chelsea. I'll just –" The bathroom door closed quietly behind him.

Chelsea waited until she heard the sounds of water running before she sighed and made a face. Realistically speaking, she had known their first night as roommates was going to be somewhat awkward, but it hadn't really prepared her for what was currently happening. And Vaughn being in such a bad mood certainly didn't help the situation, that's for sure.

Not that she could really blame him for being in a bad mood after what had happened. The city was so large, it was filled to the brim with all kinds of people – and not all of those people were of the good kind, Chelsea knew quite well. She'd had her own reasons for leaving the city, too, after all.

But this landlord in particular sounded like he was quite the scumbag. Vaughn was always so careful with his money, and she knew how much it mattered to him to be financially independent and stable. Coming off those hard winter months, in which Vaughn barely found enough jobs to scrape by, only to lose the little savings he'd made? He was probably even angrier than he let on, doing his best not to show it.

She wrapped up the rest of her chores in record time, and, for lack of anything better to do, went about arranging Vaughn's blankets on the floor. She sneakily grabbed her own pillow and left it on the makeshift bed as well, then sat down at the table again to record Moon Ranch's profits and purchases for the day. It was so hard staying awake, especially when dealing with all these numbers… She made a mental note to recheck her work the next morning, just in case, and smiled in relief as Vaughn exited the bathroom just as she was finishing up.

Washing up quickly, Chelsea toweled her hair dry and quietly made her way over to her closet. The house was dark, save for one lamplight Vaughn had left on for her; he was already on his floor bed, presumably asleep. She pulled together her outfit for the next day and saw with a smile that the animal transporter had neatly hung up his clothing – and his hat.

The smile faltered a little when she tiptoed to her bed and saw her pillow lying innocently against the backboard. Rolling her eyes fondly, she whispered, "Goodnight, Cowboy" and was only slightly startled to hear him gruffly whisper back:

"Goodnight, Chelsea."

* * *

_Thanks for tuning in, I hope you are enjoying the story so far! Please let me know how I am doing, I'd love to hear from everyone, even if it's just a simple one liner that tells me you liked it (or that you didn't like it, but if so, I'd really like to hear what specifically I can do to make it better)._

_I keep trying to put in little factoids I learn about the characters from their heart events/friendship events in Sunshine Islands, so I guess I should warn for little spoilery hints if you haven't played the game...? Next chapter might be a little slower in coming, mostly because I have some papers to write this week. But don't worry - I've already written a little of the next chapter, so hopefully the delay will only be a day or so!_

_Little fun fact? I got the "landlord scamming poor victim with false damage charges" from one of my favorite movies, White Christmas, haha!_

_Thanks for the lovely support!_

**evergreenlove**


	4. First Day

**Homestead**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

The next morning was way more easygoing than the night before. Of course, Chelsea couldn't completely chalk it up to roommate magic – she was pretty sure they were both just too tired to really get in the other's way. It didn't hurt either that today Vaughn seemed less focused on his misfortune in the city and more thoughtful about his first day working on the ranch.

Chelsea had been initially surprised when she'd woken up and saw Vaughn already dressed and puttering around her kitchen quietly. She had expected him to be an early riser due to the nature of his job and because of his overall disposition, but the sheer presence of someone else making some coffee t the break of dawn wasn't something she was used to. After quickly getting ready, she joined him at the kitchen table and grabbed a warm mug of delicious caffeinated beverage. They drained their coffee in a comfortable silence.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked, voice rough from sleep.

He glanced back towards her nightstand to check her clock. "'Bout an hour or so. It was nice to have that time to myself." She knew him well enough to know not to take that personally.

"Do you always get up this early?"

"Every day since I was fourteen," he replied.

She also knew him well enough to restrain from asking him about that statement, no matter how curious it made her.

"So, we decided that this week, you're in charge of lunch and I'm –" she yawned mid-question, "—in charge of dinner, right?"

He nodded in agreement and put his mug in the sink. "I'll be out in the barn and chicken coop most of the day, checking out the animals and your inventory. Then I'll head to Mirabelle's to order what I need. Should be back in time to make lunch for us around one. That okay with you?"

"Perfect." She got up as well and stretched. "Let me come with you to the barn, I'll show you what I built yesterday and answer any questions you may have."

There was a lot of work to be done; they walked out the door together into the morning sun to get started.

* * *

Vaughn was amazing, Chelsea had decided only a few hours later. Once she was done showing him the additions to her field, which he had approved of with a small smile and tilt of his hat, they had moved indoors. In all, it had taken her only an hour or so to go through her usual livestock routine with him, showing him all of her animals, and sharing some advice on how to handle some of the more particular creatures. He had picked up all her information easily, and even asked a few hard, specific questions that, had she been any less talented at her job, would have probably tripped her up.

Watching him herd her animals out to graze in the sun made her so happy – there really wasn't any other word she could use to describe how she felt. Even fussy Isabel, her oldest and grumpiest cow, had followed him docilely out of the barn, as if Chelsea herself were leading her!

He had such intensity when working; of course, she had seen him working many times from afar in the past, but this was the first time she had witnessed it one-on-one, first hand. She couldn't help but be even more impressed afterwards.

She had instructed him to come find her with any more questions he may have, before heading over to the other side of the field to check on her spring vegetables. The morning's weather had thawed considerably in comparison to the weather earlier in the week, so she felt less anxious about their overall condition. Watering crops barely fazed her anymore, and before she knew it, she was off to take care of some business on the main islands.

After stopping at Taro's home to discuss the future increase in her (and Vaughn's) livestock products, Chelsea realized it might be a good idea to stop at Mirabelle's just to let her know that Vaughn was already back. That way Mirabelle wouldn't be too surprised at seeing him and Vaughn wouldn't be on the receiving end of a shocked Mirabelle. Everyone would win.

Everyone except her, apparently.

She regretted her decision to come about two minutes after she entered the store, mostly because Julia and Natalie were both there, reaching to pull her into the kitchen before she could even say a word beyond 'hello' to Mirabelle. She then decided that she might as well share the news with them, too.

She regretted _that_ decision a mere second after the words left her mouth.

"What?! He moved in last night? You guys are officially roomies now?" Julia squawked, standing up and slamming her palms on the table. Natalie scooted her chair closer to Chelsea and smirked at her.

"You two couldn't wait another week, could ya?" Natalie teased, winking salaciously. Chelsea's indignant response to her pink haired friend (something along the lines of "_Gross_, Natalie!" and "No, for the billionth time, we aren't together like that!") was lost in Natalie's laughter and Julia's urgent shouts to her mother in the storefront.

"Mom, MOM, did you hear this? Vaughn came back and moved into Moon Ranch LAST NIGHT!"

Mirabelle exclaimed, "_What_?! Last night?" She stomped into the kitchen and tossed the broom she'd been cleaning with into the corner. "But he wasn't due till Wednesday!" She looked to Chelsea, who was still red-faced and swatting at a smug Natalie, for confirmation.

"Well, yes, technically he was supposed to come Wednesday, but something came up –"

Frowning, Mirabelle began to mutter, "I bet this is all because he caught wind of the surprise party we were planning to throw him – I swear, that man is the most unsocial –"

"Something really did come up! He had a fallout with his landlord and had to move out earlier than expected," Chelsea protested on his behalf. She didn't dare say anything about Vaughn's savings going down the drain – that would be the equivalent of unleashing an overprotective Mirabelle (worse than a shocked Mirabelle, that was for sure) on an unsuspecting Vaughn. And, well, she'd really like to keep Vaughn as a roommate for more than a day, thank you very much. "Wait. You were going to throw him a party?" she asked curiously when the second half of Mirabelle's comment finally registered.

Julia smirked. "Well, actually, it was going to be a 'Congratulations on your new life together, Vaughn and Chelsea!' party –"

"Oh, that's real cute," the farmer droned sarcastically.

"—but our mothers put a stop to that pretty quickly."

'Thank you' Chelsea mouthed to Mirabelle, who waved her off with a smile. She then added, "We could still throw a party this weekend for him… Although, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know if Vaughn would actually _like_ a surprise party all that much."

Still, she could concede that it was a sweet gesture.

Natalie scoffed. "That was the point of having one, it was going to be hilarious seeing his reaction."

… or maybe not.

"That's mean, you guys," she said, aghast, while Mirabelle lightly whacked Natalie's shoulder in reproach.

Julia flipped her blonde hair back, feeling anything but properly chastised judging by the wicked grin on her face. "Oh _come on_, Chelsea – just try to imagine it for a second, the look on Vaughn's face the second we surprise him! I haven't decided yet which one he'll show: his horrified face, his deer-in-the-headlights face, or his normal stony face just frozen like a broken robot!"

"Bwaha!" Chelsea slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late to take back the snort of laughter that had already escaped. It really wasn't very nice to laugh at his expense, but as long as she was laughing at _hypothetically_ broken-robot-faced Vaughn, and not Vaughn in real life, it wasn't as bad, right? Right? Even Mirabelle was laughing at that mental image!

Natalie slapped a hand on her back. "Atta girl. Now you come sit back down and tell us all the details of you and Vaughn surviving the night with only ONE bed." Chelsea nearly choked on her milk.

In the background, mother and daughter were demanding, "What? _What_?!"

"Come on, Chels, I heard from Elliot who heard from Mom who heard from Chen that you still have only one bed in your house until tomorrow – give up the details, girlie!"

Mortified, Chelsea wriggled her way out of seat, past a curious Mirabelle, and made a dash for the door. Seeing a rather befuddled Vaughn in the entranceway, she bypassed him completely, waiting until she was safely outside to call over her shoulder, "GOOD LUCK!"

* * *

Chelsea's escape plan was simply to distance herself as physically far away from Mirabelle's place as she possibly could.

When she told a baffled Kirk that, in those exact words, he blinked, opened his mouth to say something, shook his head soundlessly, and then steered the boat in the direction of Mushroom Island. Without a single question!

"You're my favorite," she told him solemnly as she disembarked. He smiled in return, clearly confused but contented to have helped her.

The air on Mushroom Island was always a little muskier, a little earthier than the air found on any of the other islands. She wasn't an expert, but she figured it had something to do with the giant, mutated mushrooms located at its center. When she was little, her mother had made a great mushroom and potato dish that was her favorite. It was something she had missed ever since she started her life on the ranch – because frustratingly enough, she realized within the first year that she could find every type of item on the ground _except_ for her precious mushrooms!

It had been very disappointing.

She had finally restored this island about a month ago, and she'd been coming back every day since to forage mushrooms to make up for the past couple of years without them. Most of her recent attempts in the kitchen had also revolved around mushrooms; unsurprisingly, mushroom dishes had become her new comfort, go-to food.

What this all boiled down to, Chelsea supposed quietly in her head, was that she hoped to high heaven that Vaughn was a mushroom man. Because if not, dinner tonight was probably going to be just the teensiest bit unpleasant…

* * *

The first thing that greeted her when she walked back into her house at one o'clock was Vaughn's lovely scowl. It wasn't directly aimed towards her, but it certainly didn't soften once his purple eyes met hers.

The second thing she noticed was the lovely smell of lunch. Her stomach growled loudly without her permission.

"I don't know if I should be fully annoyed that you bailed, or partially grateful that you gave me that half-assed warning," he muttered gruffly as he put two plates of omelet rice on the table. "'Good luck,' she says," he mocked to himself.

Chelsea tried to look chastened, but it was difficult to pull it off when her cheeks were stuffed with rice and she looked more like an obnoxious chipmunk than a sad puppy dog. "S'wowy," she tried to say. She swallowed, then continued, "But you had to know – when it comes to those three women, it's every rancher for his or herself. You can't blame me for getting the hell out of there while I could."

He had to snort at that. "Yeah, okay. Fair enough."

She weighed her options carefully. This would surely make up for her running away, but it also might make Julia kill her.

"Vaughn, in the spirit of roommate-y-ness, I should tell you… I have it on good authority that you should maybe kind of expect some sort of welcome surprise party this weekend. But, ah, you definitely didn't hear that from me." She glanced about her kitchen, voice pitched low, as if Natalie or Julie would jump out from some hiding place and glare her into submission.

At hearing this news, Vaughn's face wasn't unlike the one they had all been imagining at Mirabelle's earlier in the afternoon. Well, if she had to have ruined the surprise, at least she alone had gotten to see his reaction. Chelsea did her best not to laugh aloud, because it turned out that broken-faced robot Vaughn _was_ actually a real life thing!

The shock wore off quickly and he tried to recover himself. Cheeks flushing the tiniest bit, he ducked his head and attempted to hide most of his expression with his hat. "A surprise party? I hate surprise parties, what the hell are they thinking?" he muttered gruffly.

She shrugged innocently as if she hadn't heard _allllll_ about it earlier, and stuffed her face with more delicious food. Obviously, adding Vaughn on as her business partner/roommate was the best idea she'd ever had, especially if he was going to cook like this all the time. It was a little funny, to suddenly be privy to all these tiny facets of Vaughn's personality, like his ability to wake up super early and his apparent magic in the kitchen, when frankly, she'd never given any of it much thought in the past. But it was also kind of amazing, at the same time. She really wanted to keep learning these things about him.

They finished lunch quickly after that, Chelsea taking over the dishes as per their roommate agreement. She also collected her newly foraged mushrooms from her rucksack and rinsed the dirt off of them. "Vaughn," she called over her shoulder, "I was just wondering, do you like mushrooms?"

"What?"

"I realized today that I like to put mushrooms in most of my cooking, so I want to make sure they're not like, second to carrots or anything." He visibly twitched at the word 'carrots,' that was adorable! "Tonight, I'm thinking of making grilled mushrooms and baked potatoes for dinner – is that okay with you?"

He stood near the doorway, looking a little uncomfortable as if the domesticity of the scene made things, not necessarily bad for him, but definitely a little awkward. "I'm mighty fond of mushrooms," he eventually replied before getting back to work.

She at least had the control to wait to fist pump and grin widely _after_ the door had shut completely. She didn't do a complete victory dance, but it was honestly a close thing. However, at the sound of the door opening again, she scrambled to compose herself, keeping her back to the front of the house as a harsh blush overtook her face.

She was _such_ a goofball, ugh, had he seen her be a total weirdo? Over mushrooms, no less?

He waited half inside and half outside, obviously at war with himself. His hesitance certainly didn't help her anxiety over being caught. Then he quietly said, "Also… Thanks for warning me about the party, Chelsea" before heading outside for good.

It took a few minutes longer to finally get the flush out of her cheeks and the pounding of her heart back to normal. Stupid –

Stupid adrenaline.

* * *

_Hey, all of you wonderful readers, thanks so much for checking out my story! I'd love it if you dropped me a line and let me know how I'm doing. I was wondering if all the scene changes I have (with the line breaks) are okay with you. Hopefully it doesn't read too disjointedly? Doesn't make each chapter seem too choppy?_

_I'm planning on introducing more and more Sunshine Island characters later on, so I apologize if right now, it seems like the same ones are always making an appearance (read: Mirabelle and Julia)._

_Haha, when I typed "roommate agreement," I realized just how much Big Bang Theory I've been watching lately... rest assured, their agreement was not a 50-some page contract drawn up, consisting of ridiculously specific articles and rules (even though it's kind of funny now to think of it like that)._

_Next chapter, you guys are in for a little bit of a treat! Let's just say you'll get a more intimate acquaintance with a certain Cowboy's thoughts and feelings, hmm?_

_I hope you enjoyed! Please review!_

**evergreenlove**


	5. A Home

**Homestead**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

All of his life, Vaughn had seen plenty of warm, loving homes – he had just never been a part of one. A string of tiny, cramped city apartments did not a home make. And as he stood outside Chelsea's house – now _his _house, too – and mentally replayed that small scene of domesticity that had somehow snuck upon him, it struck him for the first time that maybe his long-standing position as an outsider was finally about to end.

He was far past the age where he yearned for a home and pined for a loving family; years of his childhood had gone by, wasted on that dream, and he knew better at his age. Then again, he had made the huge change of moving to the islands permanently. Hell, when he had first approached Chelsea with his proposition, he even used the term "settle down." Apparently, the part of him wanting to find a home had never really gone away – maybe there would always be a part of him that would want that. But even now, the very idea that he could find a home, instead of just a mere place to live, caused his chest to tighten. A weird feeling arose in the pit of his stomach.

Not good, not bad. Just. Different. Intense.

And as for the domestic bliss aspect – well, things were already sort of looking up in that department. It was one of the main reasons he had decided to move here, after all. He patted his vest, where an inner pocket concealed a fragile necklace… Then shook his head, and headed back to the barn; he'd have plenty of time to think about it some more when he wasn't on the job.

Tending to Chelsea's animals was no chore. All of her livestock were healthy and in good moods, obviously contented with their lives on Moon Ranch. A few of her newer cows that he hadn't taken care of before seemed a little wary of him at first, but soon took cues from the other animals and relaxed under his care. It was ridiculous how much Chelsea had been able to accomplish on her own; she really was one of the hardest-working individuals he knew.

Time slipped by, as he moved the feeders around the barn to best maximize space. He got lost in the physical aspect of work – going as far as removing his Stetson and rolling up his black sleeves to cool off. Even in such a state, he still could hear Julia and that damned squeaky wheelbarrow approaching the barn way before she got there.

"Here's the extra fodder you ordered earlier," she said as she shouldered her way through the doors.

He grunted in acknowledgment and shoved at an exceedingly stuck feeder, hoping Julia would fill the fodder dispenser quickly and then walk on home. Normally, he didn't mind Julia's presence in the background, as he had gotten used to her after years of working at Mirabelle's shop, but now that he was living with Chelsea, her behavior was beyond irritating. Asking all these questions, making all these sly comments… and now she was giving him an intense stare-down, clearly waiting for _something_. Hell if he knew what.

Vaughn pursed his lips and just tried to ignore her.

"So."

"Are you fishin' for a thank you?" he asked sarcastically.

"I know better than to wait for that fish," she shot back teasingly. "I just want to talk, Vaughn, is that so bad?"

"When it's distracting me from work, yes."

"Too bad, because we need to talk about this," Julia stated. "You know I'm happy that you decided to move here, but I want to know what changed your mind."

Her question made his mind immediately go to the necklace hidden in his pocket. Involuntarily, a small flush flooded his face. Any hope that Julia hadn't noticed his reaction was shot to hell when he saw the triumphant look on her face.

"You're in love, aren't you?" she asked in the tone of someone who already knew the answer. "With someone on the island – that's why you wanted to move here permanently. That's what changed your mind."

He bristled at her words. "I'm not in love, don't be ridiculous."

She tilted her head and looked at him closely. "No, maybe not. Not yet. But you _like_ someone, enough to quit your wandering ways – who's the lucky girl you're planning to pursue?"

Instead of answering, he strode over to the wheelbarrow and hoisted the huge pile of animal feed into his arms. "I guess I'll just do your job for you," he growled stiffly.

"You're not going to tell me?" she said, pouting.

"Are you going to take the wheelbarrow back, or do I have to do that for you too?"

Julia sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll take a hint. I have a few guesses on my own, anyway. And don't worry, I won't tell Mom _or Chelsea_ about your little crush." With a wink, she heaved the old wheelbarrow back outside.

It took him a few minutes of scowling in her direction to realize that Julia had emphasized Chelsea's name in her departing remark. And another minute to realize why, exactly, she had done that.

_Oh Goddess, she thought it was Chelsea?_

* * *

Over dinner – a delicious mushroom dish that he tried not to devour too quickly – he reported what changes he had made to Chelsea's barn, and what animals they would be getting next week. In turn, Chelsea told him how her conversation with Taro had gone and their discussion of the new shipping prices.

After they had cleaned up for the day, Vaughn sat back down at the table and, after a small mental debate, pulled out the necklace from his vest. It was bound to draw Chelsea's attention, but unlike Julia, he didn't really mind when Chelsea asked him questions to satisfy her curiosity. Probably because he respected her so much, he allowed her to get closer to him than he did with anyone else.

Sure enough, as he began fiddling with its thin chain, Chelsea joined him at the table with her accounting book. It only took a moment for her to notice what was in his hands.

"What a beautiful necklace," she mused, putting her pencil down. "Is it yours?" She didn't ask teasingly or pushily. She was merely curious, and he knew that if he told her to mind her own business, she would.

He fingered the delicate pendant and felt a small spark when he thought of its owner. The spark made him uncomfortable and anxious, for sure, but it also made him feel warm. "Not mine, no. It's, ah, Sabrina's."

That definitely perked Chelsea's interest. "Sabrina's? I've never seen her wear this before!" Sabrina wore very little make up and jewelry, despite her father's occupation and wealth, so he could understand her confusion.

"It's an important keepsake of hers," he murmured. "But the chain broke and she almost lost it for good. So I'm fixing it for her." He remembered that one afternoon a few weeks ago when Sabrina had dropped it, but it was their ensuing conversation that had really affected him.

He knew all too well the kinds of hardships and memories some people had hidden away, and in that one conversation, she had told him something extremely important about herself. It had showed a completely different side of her, a side that he knew from his own personal experience was not shown easily to others. In that one moment, he had felt a weird sort of kinship with Sabrina that he rarely felt with anyone else.

"That's very kind of you," Chelsea said softly, her tone taking on a familiar knowing tone… though it was still somehow more bearable than Julia's. She got up from her chair and retrieved a small instrument from her toolbox. "Here, you can use these pliers to help work the metal. Probably better than using your fingers."

Vaughn nodded in thanks. "You can't tell anyone about all this, though, they'll just be nuisances."

She laughed. "Trust me, I know how bad the gossip mill is around these islands. Though, Vaughn, if you're serious about Sabrina, you should know – a lot of the islanders think that you and I are –"

He didn't even need to look up from his work to know that she was embarrassed. He snorted. "Hn, yeah, I heard some of that today. Look. This isn't a big deal, I just think she's an interesting lady. If she believes in those stupid rumors, then that's her problem, not mine."

"I understand, Cowboy. Just don't stay up all night working on that," she teased, scribbling a few entries in the book. She was done not two minutes later, patting his shoulder and moving around him to head to bed. "Goodnight, Vaughn!"

He grunted, now slightly absorbed in his task. The pendant itself wasn't huge or ostentatious. It had a beautiful sapphire fixed in the center, with fancy gold trimmings surrounding it. By the time he decided to call it a night, he had been able to completely fix the chain; he figured he would stop by Regis's mansion in a few days, when work died down a little, in order to hand it back to Sabrina.

He wouldn't say he was _excited_ to return it to her, per se, but he could at least admit to himself that it was a nice sounding idea.

When he turned off the lights and moved over to the sleeping area, he realized with an exasperated huff that Chelsea had snuck her pillow back on his floor bed.

Silly girl, he thought, momentarily feeling that same tight emotion from earlier in his chest.

* * *

Vaughn woke up as early as he did any other day, quickly and immediately. He wasn't really one to loiter in bed when he could be doing other, more productive things; it also helped that his current 'bed' still only consisted of a few blankets and the floor (and, as of last night, Chelsea's pillow). This morning, instead of eating a quick breakfast and rushing off to work, he let himself sit outside near the shipping bin with a cup of coffee. There was just something about Moon Ranch, and Chelsea's house, that made time feel slow – not in a sluggish, painful way, but in a peaceful, contented way. It made it very easy for him to relax and actually get lost in his own thoughts for once. His usual worries about work and his tight money situation barely even crossed his mind.

Almost an hour later, on the dot, the door creaked open behind him and a sleepy Chelsea meandered to his right. A cool spring breeze messed with her long hair, not yet covered by her trademark bandana.

"I saw you from the window – I hope you don't mind me joining you," she murmured quietly into her own mug. He shook his head slightly, and they stood in companionable silence until their coffee dwindled to nothing and the grey morning turned bright.

It wasn't the happiest he had ever felt, but Vaughn really didn't need that visceral sort of happiness. Instead, in that moment, he was content, relaxed – and honestly?

He couldn't think of a better way to start off his morning.

* * *

_Wow. Writing this chapter was like pulling teeth. One by one, without any numbing agent. Ugh. So sorry it took so long to post - next chapter should not take as long! Also, not a lot physically happens in this chapter, I do apologize for that. But at least we finally get some insight into Vaughn's brain!_

_As for the Sabrina set-up... I hope that doesn't anger anybody, because trust me, endgame is definitely Vaughn and Chelsea. I like Sabrina as a character, but I don't quite like her with Vaughn (and this is not because I desperately pursued him in my own game, haha). Just something about their two personalities matching up... hm. I don't quite know. I tried to convey Vaughn's thoughts about her - he saw some potential in her and in Them from that one highly personal conversation. His heart isn't set on her, or anything, though! That scene is taken pretty directly from their first rival heart event (although Vaughn is able to fix her necklace in minutes in the actual game; I tweaked it a bit for the story)._

_Please, please, please let me know how you think I did with Vaughn's perspective! More interesting plot-like things will be coming up, I promise, so please stay tuned._

_Thank you so much for reading!_

**evergreenlove**


	6. Party It Up!

**Homestead**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Friday morning, warm and sunny, found Chelsea on Sprout Island, foraging on the beach. A delicate throat clearing behind her made her turn around.

"Chelsea, can I talk to you for a second?" Lanna asked in a hushed whisper, glancing around the beach area surreptitiously and looking all around in a sketchy manner.

"Sure – _whoa_!" As soon as she agreed, Lanna seized her upper arm and quickly hauled her behind the giant beach rock down near Gannon's shop. Chelsea rubbed at her bruised arm subtly; for a delicate, pretty pop-singer, she had quite the grip, geez…

"I was just wondering –" She paused and hesitated a moment. "It's a little personal, but I was wondering how you and Vaughn are working out… you know –"

Chelsea sighed tiredly, "If this is more teasing about our 'relationship'–"

"No, no," Lanna rushed to say. "I meant – working out – as in, financially. You and Vaughn have two separate business that you are trying to combine, I was just curious as to how you're splitting up the ranch funds and income." As she spoke, she furtively twisted her head around the rock to catch a glimpse of the dock.

Chelsea's head followed, extremely curious as to what or who had Lanna so worked up this morning. When her gaze landed on Denny, fishing peacefully in front of his shack, she almost rolled her eyes. How silly of her, she should have known from the start.

Then the implications of Lanna's demeanor and her questions sunk in. "Lanna," she said in a quiet, excited whisper. "Are you and Denny…?"

The normally upbeat and composed singer shrugged weakly and blushed. "Obvious why I'm asking, huh? Nothing's definite yet, but I'm thinking _something_ will happen soon. Last weekend, I baked him a cake and brought it to his house – he was so surprised and happy… he took me on this romantic picnic on his boat, and we just fished the entire afternoon away!

"He's also been asking a lot of questions lately about my future plans, whether I'm heading back to the city, if I would ever be happy living on the islands. But the more I think about it, the more confused I get about how a marriage between us would work. I love fishing, sure, but I don't think I could make it my life's work – I'm still a performer at heart, and singing is my main passion!"

She bit her lip, and frowned. "Plus, it's kind of rude to point this out, but you have to know that I make way more money than Denny does. If we get married, what's mine will become his, obviously. I don't mind that. I just – worry a little? About how our relationship is so financially unequal." Twiddling with her long blonde hair, Lanna looked pleadingly at Chelsea for answers.

Answers that she didn't really have. "Lanna…" she started hesitantly. "I think that's really something you two need to figure out for yourselves. I mean, I can tell you what Vaughn and I are doing, but what works for us might not work for you guys. See, livestock upkeep has always the more expensive aspect of my ranch work, and it's the main part of the ranch that we're looking to expand, so we've decided to put up a good chunk of my overall savings towards buying new Jersey cows and Suff –"

Lanna's smile twitched a little as Chelsea started getting a little too into her ranch talk. "Err, yeah, okay. That sounds. Good. So you're basically just splitting your funds and income as needed?" she tried to sum it all up. This must be how others felt when she got on a roll with a fishing or a singing monologue…

Chelsea smiled sheepishly. "Pretty much. Whatever money the livestock produce, a certain amount goes into the Moon Ranch account, I get a certain amount, and he gets the rest for his personal savings. Same set-up for whatever money the crops produce. But like I said, it's pretty specific for our situation, so I don't know how much help it'll be for you and Denny." She saw the disappointed look on her friend's face. "You should know, though, Lanna, that whenever you come into view, Denny lights up with a smile. You make him so happy, and I know he does the same for you. I really believe that if you work hard enough on a relationship with a basis that strong, everything else will eventually turn out fine."

The pop star nodded thoughtfully and began to smile. "I see, I see! You've been such a big help. Thanks, Chelsea," she said sincerely, leaning in to give her a tight hug. She then skipped off to pounce on Denny with a much lighter expression on her pretty face.

Chelsea spent the rest of her morning absently picking up herbs and thinking about how she had basically likened her and Vaughn's partnership to marriage. For the second time. She giggled nervously to herself and resolved to put it out of her mind.

* * *

When she returned to the ranch a few hours later, she found Vaughn waiting for her near the shipping bin. He gestured her to follow him across the field, and when the barn came into view, Chelsea could only stare wide-eyed at the four new Jersey cows and two new Suffolk sheep lined up next to it.

Vaughn stood to her right, looking mightily satisfied with his haul. "These were the best of the lot I could find. We'll have to wait until we can expand your barn again to order more."

"They look great," she appraised, stopping here and there to pet the animals. It was always so exciting to welcome more animals to Moon Ranch; it felt like she was extending her family, one chicken, sheep, or cow at a time. One of the sheep nudged her hand affectionately to get her to continue the petting motion. "What are you going to name them?"

When she heard him snort, she turned back to look at him. He had his arms crossed over his chest. "Name them? Why do we need to name them anything?"

He couldn't be serious right now. "So then, how would you even refer to them – cow one, cow two, cow three?" she teased.

"I was thinking we'd just shorten it to C1, JC1, S1, SS1. Nice and simple," he replied, irritated at her tone.

She gaped at his response. He sighed, "What? Are you that upset that they won't have silly names like MooMoo or Wooly?"

"I'm not upset because of that, I'm upset because they are all living creatures and they all deserve to have a name!"

He snorted again. "You're being impractical. I can assure you that their self-worth as livestock will not go down if they don't have a human moniker to go by. In any case, on a small farm operation, naming all of your animals is a cute concept, but we're expanding, remember? Truthfully, we'll probably end up with double this number of livestock by the end of the year. Naming all of them would just be tedious and unnecessary."

"I heartily disagree."

"What a surprise," he muttered, glaring off to the side.

"Look," she implored him, trying a gentler approach. "It's not just about the animals needing names as living creatures. I've found that the best way to get high-ranking products and to extend the lifespan of your animals is by bonding with them and giving them love and affection every day. The names help the rancher bond with the animals – it makes them see the livestock as more than just cents and dollars."

Vaughn sighed and even pulled off his Stetson to run a frustrated hand through his hair. She could see how irritated he was getting, but she held firm; despite his years of experience, transporting animals was very different from raising them. Instead of waiting for his rebuttal, she moved over to the closest cow and pointed at the black spots over its eyes.

"We're calling this one Panda, probably Pan for short," she decided, already heading over to the next animal. "And this one will be Abby, since I had a stuffed cow named Abby as a kid. The bull can be named Rocky, from Rocky and _Bull_winkle – hah, did you see what I did there? And this one can be Julianne, since it has the same scrunched up face that Julia makes when she accidentally eats a piece of fish. We'll call her Anne to avoid suspicion though." The last one made his pinched expression go away and a smirk come out instead.

He finally held up his hands, resigned, and said, "Okay, fine, you win. What about this sheep here?"

"Wooly," she replied, smirking.

* * *

When Vaughn headed over to the kitchen to get lunch ready for the two of them, Chelsea was near astonished to see a smile playing over his face. For no apparent reason. And even after their little spat! The smile persisted as he rationed lunch into two bowls from a pot on the stove; he placed the dishes on the table and dug in, seemingly unaware of how rare it was to see open happiness on his face. He must not know it was showing.

She asked cautiously, "So, what are we having today?"

The smile remained. "Porridge." He almost looked like a little kid eating his favorite meal.

"A favorite of yours?"

She did her best not to draw attention to the fact she was staring. As soon as he saw her looking, he would drop the smile and retreat right back into his grumpy shell. When he did finally look across the table, she immediately dropped her gaze and picked up a spoonful of lunch and shoved it in her mouth.

It was… it was quite different than the porridge her mother used to make, that's for sure. Her mother used to make it with blueberries inside, and a drizzle of honey on top; this was just plain, bland porridge. Most importantly, her mother used to serve it hot. Chelsea was pretty sure _everyone_ was supposed to serve it hot.

"This is cold!" she couldn't help but say.

Aaaand there went his smile. "So?"

"_So_… why is it cold?"

As if he was trying to be contrary, he ate another huge spoonful. "It tastes better this way. Hot foods are just disgusting."

Chelsea squinted at him. In Vaughn-speak, that would mean – "Oh, you aren't able to eat hot foods?"

He spluttered and flushed. "I _can_ eat them, I just don't like to."

She only had to raise her eyebrow to convey the "Really?" and "Why's that?" she wanted to ask.

Vaughn stared back at her, coolly assessing her sincerity, then gulped and said in a rough voice, "I rarely ate hot foods when I was growing up; I just got used to tepid foods instead." He grunted and hid under his hat, as he usually did when he felt vulnerable. Surprisingly, he continued to talk.

"I didn't always have a lot to eat when I was a kid; I basically had to eat what I could find. All these crappy foods I didn't even like – once, I found a whole bunch of canned carrots and I ate those for a whole week. Most disgusting thing I ever had to do. Once I got old enough to get a job and own my own place, I got to eat what I wanted to eat for the first time in a long time. Porridge was cheap, filling, and the flavor wasn't too strong. Easily became my favorite."

He shrugged stiffly and stared at some behind over her shoulder. Chelsea tried to not act like he hadn't just shocked her completely by offering up so much of his troubled past. Act normal, Chelsea, act normal! Instead of saying something cheerful, which would probably make him uncomfortable, and instead of saying something sympathetic, which would probably irritate him, she gave him her most heartfelt smile and stuffed more lukewarm porridge in her mouth.

She could swear it somehow tasted better from that point on.

* * *

Fully stuffed from lunch, Chelsea trudged on over to Taro and Felicia's home with her first turnip harvested this year.

"Oh, yes, this is a _fine_ turnip," Taro said admiringly, chest puffing out as he handled Chelsea's gift, "You've really done the ranch legacy proud, Chelsea!"

"Thank you, Taro," she replied, smiling. Though he could sometimes be critical and single-minded when it came to mentoring her, Taro always had been, and still remained, her biggest supporter. He'd yelled at her countless times during her beginning years on the ranch for being careless or not working hard enough, but it had all certainly paid off years later. "I was just dropping by to give you that, and to see if you could tell me what tomorrow's weather will be."

He stroked his chin. "My mustache is tickling me more than usual today. I'd say it'll rain on and off all day tomorrow."

She'd never taken his odd predictions seriously until the second typhoon that he'd shouted about had actually come true. She definitely knew better now.

"Great, you're the best!" Chelsea said happily, backtracking to the door. A loud voice from the bedroom area caught her attention before she exited.

"No, no, no, you mustn't be meek when trying to declare your eternal love! Say, 'Julia, my love, I wish to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life, to have your face be the first thing I see every day to cheer my spirits and lift my heart!'"

"Julia, my l-l-lo-love, I wish to w-wake…!" A loud groan. "I - I can't do it like this! It's really hard for m-me to – to – to say things_ like that_!"

That sounded like Elliot… and Will? Curiosity getting the better of her, she slipped into the bedroom doorway to observe one of the funniest, most adorable things she had ever seen. Elliot knelt on one knee, blushing profusely, while a starry-eyed Will stood before him, waxing poetic about true love; the two of them formed one of the unlikeliest pairs she could have imagined.

"What is going on here?" she asked, amused. "Am I interrupting a proposal?" Both men turned to stare at her, Elliot somehow turning even redder while Will lit up.

"Ah, the lovely Chelsea!" he called, completely in his element. She could tell he was half being himself and half putting on a show – she couldn't really blame him, a flustered Elliot _was_ an amusing Elliot (she must have picked up that attitude from Natalie…). "Elliot came to me earlier today, wishing to gain some advice on how to best propose an everlasting union between himself and the sweet Juliet!"

"H-her name is Julia-"

Will soldiered on, winking. "We were just discussing the best way to pledge undying devotion and affection. I'm sure a beautiful maiden such as yourself has been on the receiving end of many such speeches before, perhaps you would give him your perspective on which methods you found most effective?"

Great, now she was almost as red as Elliot. Not out of flattery, but out of embarrassment. "To be honest, Will," she admitted through gritted teeth. "I've really had very little experience in the romance department. Even before, when I lived in the city, I didn't… you know what? Never mind."

It made her feel better when Will looked genuinely shocked at her response.

"So I should probably leave you to it –" she continued.

"W-wait, Chelsea," Elliot called softly before she could retreat. "You're one of Julia's closest friends, I'd still like it if you stayed and maybe gave me some advice?"

Chelsea sighed, but couldn't help smiling. It wouldn't hurt to make sure that Julia got the loveliest proposal possible. Although it did make her wonder about the sudden marriage-fever suddenly sprouting up in her friend group. Was everybody planning to get married these days? "Okay, sure. Show me what you two have come up with so far."

The two resulting attempts made her gigglesnort. The first attempt was obviously Will's doing, filled with long, poetic lines about Julia's eyes that Elliot could barely get out. The second attempt was Elliot's own, filled with so many stutters and nervous side mutterings that Will-pretending-to-be-Julia rejected his proposal on the spot.

She patted a stressed Elliot on the back. "Look, Elliot, Julia will say yes no matter how you propose." Well, probably. She made no guarantees if Elliot managed to throw up on her friend or if he accidentally punched her during the proposal. Something crazy like that. Even so, Julia would still probably say yes… eventually. After a little bit of groveling. "A proposal is supposed to be a statement of love and dedication; you're asking a girl to share her life with you, and vice versa. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture or a big event. Just sincere, and well-timed."

"What lovely advice from the lovely Chelsea," Will said enthusiastically.

"Well-timed?" Elliot asked meekly.

"For example, proposing any time that Mirabelle is also in the same room is probably a no-go. You would barely have any time to celebrate on your own before you would have a crying Mirabelle hugging you both. And I doubt you'd want to propose in front of Natalie." She bit her lip to keep from laughing. "I'm sure once the right moment comes, you'll know it. Just be honest with her and –"

"Chelsea?" Felicia knocked on the doorway and peered into the bedroom. "Ah, you're still here, wonderful! I was wondering if you could lend me a hand tonight."

Chelsea moved out into the hallway, hearing the two men resume their 'training' behind her. "Of course, what do you need help with?"

Elliot's mother rested her cheek on his palm and tilted her head. "Well, I was planning on changing the decorations for the upcoming Sheep Festival on Meadow Island. Usually Natalie helps me with all of the preparation work, but she's been so busy with Pierre these days – I'd hate to tear her away from a date with such a lovely young man."

_Young_ was right. Almost four years of living on these islands, and Chelsea still sometimes looked at the Gourmet chef and wondered how someone with his looks could actually be an adult. "I'd love to. What time were you thinking of going?"

"Before dinner time, around 5PM sound good to you?"

It would be cutting it a little close, since she would have to start dinner so late, but she was sure Vaughn would understand. "Not a problem. I'll meet you at the dock at 5PM, all right?"

Felicia smiled innocently. "Absolutely perfect!"

* * *

The rest of the day passed by in an uneventful blur. Felicia was already waiting in the boat come 5PM; Chelsea had to climb over her to take the front seat. The moment she sat down, Kirk started the engine and she realized that Felicia didn't have any party items or even a notebook with her.

Odd.

"So what decorations were you thinking of changing this year?" she asked, trying to make small talk.

"I'm not sure yet," Felicia giggled. "Maybe more balloons? Maybe different color balloons would be more festive, what do you think?"

You called me out here to ask about balloons? Chelsea thought to herself, confused. Something in the distance made Felicia grin all of a sudden, though Chelsea had to turn around to see the approaching Meadow Island. A strategic seat placement by Felicia, she soon found out, as a decked out and crowded island filled her view. A banner that read, "WELCOME VAUGHN!" hung neatly over the buffet table.

"Oh," she said dumbly. "I really should have known." Since I'm the one who warned him about this in the first place – that part, she kept to herself.

"Surprise, dear!" the kindhearted mother said delightedly as they slowly pulled up to the dock. Kirk made sure they safely disembarked before heading back to the main islands to pick up Vaughn. "We were originally going to surprise both you and Vaughn, but Natalie seemed insistent that you be part of the surprise instead."

"I'm glad you changed your mind. I'm not a huge fan of surprises," the rancher admitted, taking in all the bright decorations and the tables of food. She thought she saw Pierre's famous chocolate mousse cake sitting in the middle – truly, it was a traditional Sunshine Islands party; the town had gone all out, and everyone had shown up to celebrate, aside from the Witch Princess.

"How are you getting Vaughn here," she asked curiously. "He's kind of a suspicious person by nature." Not to mention she may have given him extra reason to be suspicious these days…

"We sent Elliot to tell Vaughn you needed some help over here; Natalie and Julia wanted to get him, but I secretly thought that would make him less likely to come," Felicia giggled.

"For sure," Chelsea agreed, waving to Alisa and Nathan as they approached.

The portly priest greeted them both jovially, pulling Felicia aside to ask about Elliot and Julia's upcoming nuptial plans – as if Elliot had already proposed and Julia had already accepted. The pink-haired mother smiled, but admitted that they had some time to plan as it seemed that, going by Elliot's schedule, the couple wouldn't actually get engaged until sometime next decade. Alisa got pulled into their conversation, chiming in how wonderful it would be if the two of them could cement their commitment in front of the Harvest Goddess.

Chelsea slinked away to grab a cup of punch and wandered over to where Lily and Gannon stood chatting about architecture, of all things.

"A secret compartment built under the floor is simple enough," the burly man grunted. "But safes built into walls and secret rooms are a lot tougher, 'cause you want to make them large 'nough to hide important stuff, but not large enough to make it noticeable in the architecture. The whole point's to make it stay _secret_, yeah?"

The exotic treasure hunter nodded intently, looking like she was one second away from pulling out a notebook and taking down notes. Sometimes Chelsea could only imagine the sort of life that Lily must have experienced before she came to the islands; she had heard stories from her friend herself, of course, but they always reminded Chelsea of the plots from action movies. Very surreal, and hard to picture actually happening.

They smiled at her arrival, Gannon giving her that particularly goofy smile that made her think of a mix between a real bear and a teddy bear.

"The Cowboy is quite the interesting wanderer," Lily said pleasantly. "Congratulations on your ability to get him to settle down. Of course, my kinsmen had very strict rules concerning females and males living together without the bond of marriage, but I can see how happy it has made you, and I could never begrudge you that."

Chelsea laughed a little, but tried to keep it to herself. Overall, it was pretty sweet that Lily wanted her to be happy above all else. "Thank you, Lily." She meant to ask about her progress in searching the mines, but got distracted by the boat pulling up to the dock and the flustered cowboy now disembarking.

"SURPRISE!" the islanders shouted as loudly as they could. Vaughn wore the deer-in-the-headlights expression Julia had mentioned, his wide-eyed gaze searching the crowd and steadying on her. He regained some of his composure and relaxed, giving her a small nod.

Waving cheerfully, she watched the other islanders pretty much swarm him. He must have known, when Elliot asked him to come over, that this was leading to his "surprise" party. Elliot was not the most believable, or creative, of actors. Even still, he looked overwhelmed and underprepared, almost as if this wasn't what he'd been expecting – most importantly, he even looked sort of happy, shaking his new neighbors' hands and stiffly accepting hugs from Julia and Mirabelle.

"You were really surprised, weren't you – we really got you this time!" Julia crowed, smug. Vaughn kept his face stoic, but cast an amused look at Chelsea.

"Yeah, you got me," he droned sarcastically, nearly smirking when the sarcasm went over Julia's head. Chelsea chuckled into her punch cup.

She waited patiently to approach him, only doing so when the crowd dispersed a little. "Surprise, Cowboy!" she joked.

"Thanks," he replied warmly, tipping his hat.

"You know," she ventured nonchalantly. "You actually did look a little surprise when you got out of the boat – but I'm pretty sure it wasn't because you weren't expecting a party."

"Nah, someone happened to tip me off 'bout that," he said. "I guess – knew there'd be a party, I just wasn't expecting – _all of this_." His eyes took in all the decorations, the feast on the long table, the genuine excitement all the villagers exuded in welcoming him. She socked him in the shoulder, feeling this sudden burst of contentedness and happiness for him; he glared at little at the gesture, but it lacked heat, and in the next second, Sabrina timidly sidled up to next to them and began to congratulate him.

Chelsea pretended that she needed to ask Chen a very important question and left the two of them alone.

The party really kicked up as everyone stuffed themselves with food and drink. Mark, Taro, and Denny volunteered for a milk chugging contest and ended up with bellyaches and milk all down their fronts. They laughed it off, the two young men picking up the elder milk-chugging champion and parading him about carefully. When Chelsea wasn't cheering them on and laughing at their antics, she threw subtle looks over at the Harvest Sprite monument where Sabrina and Vaughn had moved to continue their conversation.

Being the only one (or so she assumed) who knew of Vaughn's little crush on the shy girl, she felt strongly obligated to look out for them. That meant deflecting Julia so the blonde wouldn't notice them standing alone, intercepting a hyper Charlie from running over and disrupting their conversation, and even once drawing Regis into a painful conversation about rocks to stop him from looking for his daughter.

The things she did for friends, she thought exasperatedly as Regis began to laugh about all the money he was making from Volcano Island.

* * *

_Well, this chapter took forever and a day to write; a lot has happened in the past week or so, and I've been distracted. Sorry about that! But at least this chapter is over double the usual length, right?_

_I sort of feel like no one is even reading this story anymore, which is a little disappointing. It makes it hard to write each chapter, because I honestly think that maybe I'm doing something wrong from the lack of feedback. I really want to know how I'm doing and what you think of my characters and dialogue and progression of the story. Maybe it's because it's a slow-paced, pretty much drama-free story - is it too uninteresting? Boring? Please tell me honestly, because I not only want to write the best story for you readers, but also for myself as well!_

_Think of reviews as 800 FP gifts in the HM universe. Each one you give me inspires and supports me, and makes me happier and happier until we have a lovely heart event (read: update) that makes things more interesting. I promise that there are some fun times coming up in the next chapters planned, so stay tuned!_

_I hope you enjoyed and will give me some feedback, even if it's just a simple one-liner. Next chapter will be up this weekend, I SWEAR. IT'S ALREADY HALF-WRITTEN, I PROMISE. Haha!_

_Sincerely,_

**evergreenlove**


	7. A Man's Worth

**Homestead**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

At the start of their arrangement, Chelsea could hardly even begin to imagine all the accomplishments that Vaughn would achieve within the season alone. She pretty much thought they'd start expanding slowly, building up their resources and basically biding their time, and _then_ end the year raking in the profits of their hard work. But the doubled livestock population currently thriving in her barns and the greatly rising numbers in her accounting book were saying otherwise.

Not that she was complaining about being wrong; in fact, she was happily wrong in this situation.

All in all, it was pretty amazing how quickly Vaughn had switched from the role of animal transporter to animal caretaker. He'd even named the last three chickens he'd bought on his own, without prompting! Of course, they were now named Bird, Chirp, and Egg, the least imaginative names possible, but it was a definite start.

Chelsea had been running her ranch for almost four years now, and thought she'd pretty much had every part down pat. Partnering up with Vaughn made her think that maybe she shouldn't be so lax. She needed to up her game now, too – hold up her end of the ranch, so to speak. There had to be something she could improve or expand to make her crops the absolute best.

The first thing that came to mind was crossbreeding crops. Take two awesome things and make an even superduper awesomer thing – that would be impressive, wouldn't it?

She knew it was possible, Taro had mentioned it once or twice when he reminisced about the old days on his own ranch. He didn't seem to know much about it, though, as most of the methods were only really starting to develop near the end of his professional days.

But that was okay. She wanted to figure this out on her own anyway! She planned to go to Sabrina's house and see if maybe the shy girl had any books on crops in that gigantic library of hers. While Sabrina normally lost herself in fantasy and romance novels, Chelsea knew she loved to collect and read any book she could get her hands on. There was at least a chance that she might have something that would help get the ball rolling.

The mansion was always a bit imposing whenever Chelsea laid eyes on it, but she knew it housed very kind, if not a little bit eccentric in Regis' case, and good people. One of the servants, Benjamin, opened the door when she knocked and gestured her into the foyer. He looked a bit frazzled.

"Hello, Miss Chelsea. Regis and Sabrina are home, but are currently, uh, unavailable."

"Is everything all right?" she asked concernedly, his anxious manner raising a little flag in her mind.

"Well, it's –" And then she heard the muffled raised voices coming through the office doorway.

Benjamin sighed and whispered, as though he might still be overheard even with all the shouting, "It's a terrible fight, miss. I haven't seen them argue like this in years. I'm afraid Miss Sabrina will leave for good, if nothing gets resolved!"

"That's horrible," she gasped, trying to peek through the doorway to see what was going on. She had never heard Sabrina protest so loudly before; it was hard evidence that something must be really, really wrong. "Let me try to talk to them."

Benjamin hesitated, conflicted, but finally nodded. "Normally I'd ask any other guest to leave, but I think you might be able to help them. Both Miss Sabrina and Master Regis seem to hold you in high regard. I hope they will listen to you."

Chelsea thanked him and inched towards the office. Maybe she was being too nosy and Regis and Sabrina would kick her out immediately. But she couldn't find it in her to care; she couldn't quite explain her logic, but to her, it sounded like one of those ugly fights where someone inevitably says something they'll regret. She didn't want that happening, especially when she knew she could try to do something to help prevent it.

"… How dare you talk to me in this way?!" Regis hissed, paying her entrance no mind. If he had the physical constitution of a normal human being, Chelsea was sure he'd be flushing with rage. As it was, he remained as pale as always, his thin features making him look especially frightening.

Sabrina remained strong in the face of her enraged father, though. "I'll say it again, since you don't seem to be listening: I won't marry someone I don't love just because it benefits _you_!" she shouted, looking fed up and hurt. Chelsea's jaw dropped – that's what this was all about? An arranged marriage?

Poor Sabrina, she thought, right at the moment that Sabrina finally noticed her presence. "Chelsea," she called out desperately. "You agree with me, don't you? I shouldn't have to marry a total stranger just because my father tells me to!"

Chelsea didn't even need to think about it. "No, you shouldn't," she replied firmly.

Regis looked close to a conniption. "Stay out of this, Chelsea, this is a family concern!"

She shook her head and put her hands on her hips. "What are you thinking, Regis? This isn't fair to Sabrina at all!"

He looked a little abashed at that, but barely faltered. "It's not ideal, I understand, but it's for the good of the company. My hands are tied."

Before she could think up a reply, Sabrina burst out yelling, "For the good of the company, for the good of the company! That's all I hear these days, it seems like it's the only thing you care about!"

"Of course it isn't," Regis insisted. For all his bullheadedness, it was easy to see how much he cared for Sabrina, and how much he believed in what he was saying. "You know I love you, daughter, but this isn't something I can change."

"_You_ _can change_ _it_, you're just choosing not to because of the company! You always put that company before your family – always, always! Why do you think mother left you?"

Heavy silence fell. Chelsea felt her own heart stutter at the withering face Regis adopted at the mention of his ex-wife. Even Sabrina looked shocked at her own outburst and seemed immediately ready to apologize.

"Father…"

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Sabrina" Regis spoke quietly, painfully. "Look, I've invited Douglas to meet with you to make things easier – I'm sure you'll get along quite well, just give him a chance and let me introduce you two. Benjamin, please escort him in."

"He's already in the house?" the dark haired girl despaired. "I just don't understand how you can ignore my feelings and do something like this, father."

The CEO's fingers curled up in fists on his desk and he was torn between looking angry and looking sad. Any response he might have given was interrupted by a young man entering. He was tall, with dark brown hair, and he was dressed quite lavishly in a flashy suit. His right hand had at least three gaudy rings on it, as if the rest of his fashion style wasn't enough to scream out 'Money Bags'.

"Hello," he said in a posh voice. "My name is Douglas, it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Miss Sabrina."

Years and years of etiquette training, plus her inherent polite disposition, forced Sabrina to respond in kind. "H-hello, it is nice to meet you too, Douglas."

"I must say, you are far more beautiful in person. The picture of you that Regis carries does not do you justice," he said smoothly.

Sabrina tried hard to muster up a fake smile for him. "T-thank you, that is very kind of you to say."

"I knew it," Regis cut in, trying to sound enthusiastic. "You're getting along famously!" He winced at the glare Sabrina sent his way.

"Master Regis," Benjamin spoke hesitantly from the doorway. "You have another guest who is interested in speaking with Miss Sabrina."

Chelsea could see the infamous Stetson behind Benjamin before she could see Vaughn's face. It made her stomach drop a little, because adding Vaughn into this specific equation, no matter what universe one was in, would never be a good idea. The animal rancher had on his usual stone-poker-face, but she could tell from the twitching of his eyebrows that he was just about realizing what a mess he had walked into. His shoulders stiffened and his posture became rigid.

Regis sighed. "Yes, what is it, Vaughn?"

"I… wanted to talk to Sabrina in private," he gritted out, uncomfortable and irritated. Being put on the spot like this had visibly raised his hackles. "Just – just for a minute and then I'll be outta here." Chelsea could see how he wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of this mansion. She didn't blame him at all.

His hand went to his vest pocket and Chelsea immediately knew he was here to return Sabrina's beloved necklace. If he told her that, she was sure Sabrina would jump at the chance to get it back – but when she opened her mouth to explain, Vaughn cut her off with a short jerk of his head.

"This isn't a good time, Vaughn," Regis muttered darkly, standing and slapping his palms on the surface of his massive desk.

"A _private_ chat, hm?" Douglas mused, glancing at Vaughn, then at Sabrina with a calculating stare. Chelsea could see the minute he made a specific assumption about the two of them, as a scowl marred his unfortunately handsome face. "How… quaint."

Douglas, or Snobby Businessman as Chelsea began calling him in her head, then unsubtly looked Vaughn from head to toe with an unimpressed expression.

"What are you supposed to be?" he drawled mockingly. "The island's local rodeo star?"

Vaughn shot him a glare that would cut through the thickest of rock, but didn't say a word otherwise. Chelsea kept waiting for him to spit out a biting retort, an icy put down, even a dismissive insult - _something_. Vaughn had never been the type to deal patiently with imbecilic or rude behavior, but it seemed something was making him hold his tongue in this situation. She couldn't fathom what.

Uninterrupted, Snobby Businessman continued smarmily, "What an interesting fellow you've associated yourself with, Miss Sabrina. Quite a kind favor you are paying, giving this peon both your time and interest. Do you pity him for his miserable livelihood? Or perhaps for his stunning lack of wealth?"

Chelsea opened her mouth to snap back at him, but was interrupted by Sabrina. "What an absolutely ugly thing to say; you couldn't be more wrong in thinking that I am the kind of person who looks down on others like you clearly do. And don't you dare say anything like that about Vaughn," Sabrina replied coldly, obviously furious.

Even Regis looked upset at Snobby Businessman's remark. "Really now, Douglas, was that petty insult really necessary?" He turned to his daughter, determined not to lose any ground. "But you, young lady, shouldn't talk to your fiancé in such a rude way."

Sabrina nearly squeaked in overwhelming anger. Her attention quickly moved from a fuming Vaughn back to her father. "_Me_?! I'm the one being rude here? I –"

"Look," Vaughn cut in roughly. "I just need to talk to you Sabrina, just for a second. We don't even need to leave the house –"

"Isn't this cute, how much he wants to meet with you," Douglas sneered. "He's trying so hard!"

Vaughn turned to Sabrina, who was caught up arguing with her father again, and frowned deeply. "Never mind, forget it," he muttered coldly, and turned to leave.

"Getting discouraged, eh, peon? One would think you'd be used to rejection in your lifetime," Douglas taunted smugly.

Chelsea knew it wasn't technically her place to get involved, but one look at Vaughn's shuttered expression and his white-knuckled fists made her lose it. "You need to back off, Mister Douglas." She poked him hard in the chest, watching in satisfaction as the weakling stumbled back, surprised. "Vaughn is easily worth ten, no, twenty of you! In fact, the world would be a much better place if it were populated with more hard-working, decent men like Vaughn, rather than holier-than-thou jerks like yourself!"

He gave her a cool, assessing look, but the smirk returned to his face quickly enough. "Very touching defense for your Cowboy. But I'm in no mood to be lectured by some country-bumpkin farmer. I'll go take a walk and get some fresh air; hopefully, by the time I return, those who are not involved will have taken their leave, and you and I can get to business, Regis." He nodded at the CEO and spun on his heel to head outside. Chelsea watched him go in disgust, before turning her attention to father and daughter.

"Regis, what you're planning to do to Sabrina is unfair and frankly, demeaning. I know you work hard every day because you love your company, but isn't this taking it way too far? And Sabrina, I realize how upset you must be, but even though he's not thinking properly right now, you know your father loves you. What you said about your mother just seems spiteful and mean. I'm sure you two can work this out if you both just calm down, _listen_ to what the other person is saying, and try to understand the other person's feelings." Regis and Sabrina stared at her with a mixture of surprise and shame. Having said her piece, Chelsea finally grabbed Vaughn's arm and pulled him along to the door.

Benjamin offered her a weak smile as she exited, but she could barely say goodbye to him, she was so upset.

"I can't believe that Douglas! What a complete asshole," she fumed as soon as Regis' front door closed behind them. She could see said asshole pompously walking away in the direction of Gannon's shop.

"Leave it alone, Chelsea," Vaughn managed to say through gritted teeth.

"But seriously, the things he was saying about you –"

"I'm asking you to _leave it alone_."

"Leave it al – I can't believe you're being so passive about this," she muttered in disbelief. "The man who can lecture me for five solid minutes about his porridge temperature is suddenly too shy to give an arrogant businessman a well-deserved 'screw you'?"

Vaughn tugged his hat over his eyes angrily. "This is different. Just. Be quiet. Please."

She hated seeing him so frustrated and closed off like this. "You want me to beat him up for you?" If she was remembering correctly, this offer had helped to distract him the last time he'd been this moody.

Unfortunately, this time it just made things worse. Frustrated, he turned to her with narrowed, angry eyes. "Why do you keep saying stuff like that? Why did you defend me in there?" he demanded, exasperated and irritated. "This isn't the first time you've tried getting involved in my personal affairs. Do you always have to be so nosy – what, do you think I can't handle my problems on my own?!"

She glared right back, barely resisting the childish urge to yank on his neck kerchief or smack his Stetson right off his infuriating head. "Because you're my friend, Cowboy! And it's not just me, anyone on this island would try to help you if they knew about some of the things you have to go through! We all care about you. But you're so wrapped up in dealing with things by yourself, you never learned how to accept the help that other people offer you!"

"How can I trust that any of those offers are real? Tons of people spew that sort of bullshit all the time, and no one ever really means it," he snarled.

Her jaw dropped. "You think I'd offer to help but I wouldn't carry through for you? You think I'm lying _right now_?"

His withering stare was all the answer she needed. She stood shaking in anger for a moment longer before impulsively taking off towards the retreating figure near the café. A strangled, "Chelsea, _what the hell are you doing_?" followed her, but she ignored it. The closer she got, the more she faltered – come on, she didn't want to actually wail on the guy, as obnoxious as he was, but she had to do _something_. Just Vaughn's look of absolute belief that no one would ever come through for him was enough to strengthen her resolve as she neared her target, pulled back her leg, and kicked.

Kicked him right in the ass.

The kick was enough to shove him forward, arms flailing dramatically as he faceplanted right onto the grass. More than a little shocked at having actually done it, Chelsea stood stock-still and just watched him.

Douglas scrambled to his knees, turning around with a dirt and grass-covered face twisted in rage. "THE HELL? _WHO _– _DARES_?"

Aaaand that was her signal to get the heck out of there. She pivoted and ran, ignoring his furious demands for her to stop. Hysterical giggles bubbled up inside her and she nearly crashed into Vaughn, who had partially come after her and was now staring at her, mouth agape. Grabbing his hand, they both began to run away from the scene of the crime, and by the time they had crossed the bridge and passed Mirabelle's home, neither of them could hold back the laughter anymore.

Vaughn tugged her in the direction of the dock and breathlessly instructed a confused Kirk to take them to Animal Islands. They hadn't heard the irate businessman follow them over the bridge, but they were too caught up in adrenaline and laughter to even care if he was chasing them or not.

Once the boat got moving, they relaxed a little and merely looked at each other. Still wheezing and giggling, Chelsea finally said, "So this is what it feels like to be on the lamb!"

Vaughn chuckled at her joke and roughly brushed at the sweat gathered at his temples. Once his laughter trickled away, his face morphed into something more serious, something a little vulnerable – an expression Chelsea had never seen before.

"You are _crazy_," he told her, voice quiet. "I cannot believe you actually did that."

His words reminded her of their earlier argument. She puffed up – idly realizing what a sight she must be right now, her red bandana coming loose from all the running, face flushed and a little sweaty, expression indignant and a little smug, hair all over the place from the ocean wind. "Yeah, well, I hope this taught you a valuable lesson, Cowboy!"

He continued to stare at her, not angrily or frostily or piercingly. Just a soft stare, like he was trying to see inside her to find some sort of answer.

Luckily, they docked minutes later at Animal Island, thanking a bewildered Kirk and setting off towards the small pond at the center for a little more privacy.

Chelsea picked up where they left off. "I hope this taught you that I don't leave someone I care for hanging. If I can do something to help or comfort my friends, I do it. And I'm not the only one out there who thinks like that. This entire island has got your back, Jack."

His face didn't change, and it was starting to disarm her a little. She felt her righteous anger slipping away. After all, she had said what most needed to be said; if she continued on, pushing at him, he'd probably just end up mad again. And she did not just kick a man's ass literally to go home with a mad roommate, no sir.

"That was a joke, I know your name's not Jack, Cowboy," she teased, trying to lighten the air a little.

For a split second, she could see the changes in his expression as clear as day. The vague, soft expression dipped into one of surprised consideration, followed by a scowl poking through, before his face finally settled into a look of absolute certainty.

Then he smirked and things seemed to settle back into normality. "I don't think you understand the definition of the word joke, then."

She rolled her eyes. A wet drop on her nose startled her into looking up; a lazy drizzle began to fall, washing her in a cool haze.

"I didn't know it was supposed to rain today," she said simply. She wasn't complaining, the rain felt nice on her flushed skin. Vaughn seemed to enjoy it as well.

"Better head back," he replied. "Wrangle the animals inside before one of 'em gets sick."

"I'll help," she decided, following him back to the boat.

The rain grew stronger as they trudged back to the ranch. Through the heavy veil of water, Chelsea could make out a figure standing near her home underneath an umbrella. Upon closer inspection, she could tell it was Sabrina, waiting for them.

"Chelsea, Vaughn," Sabrina greeted cautiously. "I just – I wanted to apologize for getting you involved in my argument with my father. It was inappropriate and rude, and it put the both of you in difficult positions. Father and I have reconciled and apologized to one another."

Chelsea smiled kindly, feeling a little bad now about how harshly she had lectured her friend earlier. "It's fine, Sabrina, I'm just glad that everything's resolved. And about Douglas -?"

Some of the timidity disappeared as a glower appeared on Sabrina's delicate face. "Douglas has left the islands, for good. And without a fiancé." She sucked in an audible breath and turned to face Vaughn head on. "I especially wanted to apologize to you, Vaughn, for all of his awful comments. And for me ignoring your pleas to talk. It seemed very important, and I didn't pay much attention to it at all. My father feels the same way."

Chelsea nudged Vaughn gently in the side. "I'll go sort out the animals, you two should talk."

He looked like he was about to argue, but then nodded tightly. He hated anything getting in the way of his work, she knew. But he recognized how remorseful Sabrina was and how important that necklace was to her, and knew he could trust Chelsea to get the job done. Or at least, that's what she interpreted from his single nod. Her Vaughn-speak was getting better now that they were roommates, but it wasn't perfect.

Not wanting to linger and intrude, she smiled one last time at Sabrina, clapped Vaughn on the shoulder, and scurried across her field. She had a whole lot of irritated wet cows and sheep to appease.

* * *

_The chapters seem to want to be longer these days, which I guess I can work with, haha. It might take me an extra day or two to crank out a chapter because of it, but I kind of like the length as is. I feel like more happens in longer chapters, i.e. I feel like I get more accomplished._

_This one was tough to write because of all the dialogue and arguing. In the game, this Bitter Argument event between Sabrina and Regis is a lot shorter, tamer, and ends more neatly. And Douglas was, thankfully, nonexistent. But..._

_Warning, small rant ahead:_

_I usually dislike having a character lecture other people about their bad ways, and being that constant voice of reason. Mostly because, in real life, if people are arguing, they usually won't stay quiet and listen peacefully for a whole monologue, especially when the content is inherently patronizing them. You know what I mean? It makes the lecturing character become a sort of Mary-Sue, because after she or he speaks, the people listening feel ashamed and magically see the light, every single time. That's not to say that this NEVER happens in real life, just that a lot of fanfiction has it happening constantly to make the lecturing character seem super reasonable and smart and persuasive and awesome._

_I kind of did that here with Chelsea, but I let it slide because in my mind, I think of it as less of a lecture, and more of her just being fed up and snapping out. Her lines aren't long, and Regis and Sabrina were going to see reason at some point - her remarks didn't make them change their minds, just pushed them to the resolution faster. I hope that this explanation makes it more bearable for the readers, too._

_I also love Sabrina (just not with Vaughn, for some reason). This chapter didn't really show that all that much, but I hope it didn't come off as bashing her. I just figured she would be so upset and preoccupied with her own issue at the time, she wouldn't be the most attentive friend for Vaughn even if she_ did_ have a crush on him._

_Your feedback was amazing last chapter and was so inspiring. I have no plans to abandon this story, even if there are zero reviews; but it was so wonderful to hear from all of you, I truly enjoyed it. Thanks so much and I hope you liked this chapter as well! Please continue sending me feedback if you have the time._

_Please stay tuned, and I apologize for this monstrosity of an author's note. I got carried away, haha, but seriously: I love you guys, have a wonderful day!_

_Sincerely,_

**evergreenlove**


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